tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18527787069499284962024-03-07T03:58:49.993-05:00Beyondbarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.comBlogger498125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-27073686409531906572015-10-12T12:51:00.000-04:002015-10-12T12:51:12.256-04:00thoughts from treesLife goes on. Some ups, some downs, some navigating and some meandering.
So sometimes, I sit and just look and listen. And it's pretty nice how shifting from 'doing' mode to 'being' mode lets you find new truths that you've walked by and hurried past more times than you can count. So when I stop, I get these little moments.
And now I shall fling them into the interwebs.
From a couple of weeks barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-33746381327628892442014-06-11T11:47:00.000-04:002014-06-11T11:47:09.022-04:00buzz buzzBusy days at the farm. Field garden #1 mostly planted, seedlings poking up and transplants settling in. Field garden #2 (I know, not very original) has its rows of potatoes planted and shoots now visible, and this morning I added some corn and more squash ahead of an expected heavy rainfall. Chicks, all 77 birds, are growing and two weeks from slaughter date; hens laying well.
Pigs have barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-48843803933059935642014-05-14T12:46:00.002-04:002014-05-14T13:10:54.276-04:00look downLooking down is usually associated with submission, with buckling under, caving in, and giving up. We're encouraged to look up, look around, look at, look in the eye, be alert. I usually try to do that on the farm, checking on things and looking for critters. Today, though, I chose to look down. And what treasures I found.
Looking down slows your stride. You don't make good time. You don't barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-84581502780372892932014-04-29T13:38:00.003-04:002014-04-29T15:10:46.285-04:00transitionEnd of an era, and all that.
As of June, I will be done homeschooling. The journey that began when R turned four and we debated about her education, deciding to "try it for a year", is ending some fourteen years later. M, the youngest of the three, will be entering high school in the fall.
I feel like I should write some sort of retrospective, but how does one distil so many years of learning barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-39679851744217954332014-04-07T22:12:00.000-04:002014-04-08T10:55:53.452-04:00changesI am now the mother of three teen girls. Well, I have been for a while, but became aware recently of a shift in my perspective.
Boyfriends are not in the picture, but there are names mentioned by each of the girls more often than others. Who is he? I think. What's his character? His family? What are his plans for the future? Would he suit our daughter?
And then I realize...
... I am becoming barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-25215391017276394352014-02-14T09:18:00.002-05:002014-02-14T09:18:47.096-05:00daring kitchen, februaryThis month's challenge made my kitchen burst into song. Literally.
Spanakopita. When D or the girls asked what I was making and this was my answer, I either got the word put into The Lion King's "Hakuna Matata" or Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vita". Which made for a loud, but fun, cooking experience.
The February Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Audax of
Audax Artifex. The barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-35615665873368952782014-02-03T09:29:00.002-05:002014-02-03T09:29:37.966-05:00yes i did finishI didn't blog each of the thirty days toward my goal, but: I did it!
The farm's projects for the year have been shortlisted. A few more details to come, but we've narrowed things down. It's nice to already know what's doable and in these short, cold days, the thought of getting my hands into cool soil again is heartening.
We're increasing last year's field garden by about 50%, most barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-12752366475989212102014-01-15T11:25:00.000-05:002014-01-15T11:25:45.260-05:0030 days, a few more daysIt's been a week since the last post, but I haven't been inactive - I promise!
Day 9 involved cutting the goal down to make it more manageable. But I was on track so while I could see the merit in it (really, in the flush of the new year, who hasn't set an unrealistic goal and then tanked on it later?), I didn't cut back on my goal.
Day 10: Identify what stops me short and trips up my goal. Forbarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-80893486724930557142014-01-08T08:56:00.000-05:002014-01-08T08:56:50.431-05:0030 days, day 8The idea of today is to visualize. To think ahead to what we want the goal to look like. Tapping into another sense to refine and solidify a goal that can feel like threads that waft through the air and slip through fingers.
My goal, a shortlist, isn't very visually exciting. But what that list makes possible? That excites me.
The fact that the goal takes place during summer days, barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-16493964940041499182014-01-07T13:32:00.001-05:002014-01-07T14:14:25.772-05:00miscellany:macarons
recipe from my class
This isn't a food blog, at least not officially. It started as a 'hi, I'm here' blog, an outlet for my desire to write stuff about stuff. Music, making a CD, living on the farm, running and how I hate it, deep(ish) thoughts. Then the food started. It has sort of taken over, but it and farming are the things I enjoy writing about just now.
Last weekend, thanks to a gift barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-17038337148609389342014-01-07T11:29:00.001-05:002014-01-07T11:29:42.016-05:0030 days, day 7Today's task finished the line of questioning to define and refine my goal: WHO? (making me wonder what's next, as we've worked our way through all the questions). Who will keep me accountable, push me when I need it, and celebrate with me?
D. Unquestionably, unequivocally, him. The man who suggested buying property because it was a long-ago dream of mine, who raised the subject again when I wasbarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-56591837254111245152014-01-06T13:36:00.002-05:002014-01-06T13:37:13.297-05:0030 days, day 5 & 6a.k.a, the weekend hit so I'm amalgamating posts.
Back to the focus question-type goals, with day 5 being identifying the WHEN and today the WHERE. These are a little nebulous for me. Since the goal requires research, it's something I can do just about any time. As to where, it's sort of the same.
That said, I can pinpoint times and places where my work will be most efficient. My mind likes to barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-21053088091176131372014-01-04T08:51:00.000-05:002014-01-04T08:51:29.660-05:0030 days, day 4I spent two hours last night reading about bees. Research! Biology, how the colony works, why hives are designed the way they are and the important parts of a hive, etc. I found it fascinating. They're incredible.
But on to day 4. Hello, Saturday! Today's goal was a little different: "Today, figure out a way to add some fun to whatever it is
you’re working on for the next 30 days. It doesn’t barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-31110587356732270602014-01-03T08:53:00.001-05:002014-01-03T08:53:55.550-05:0030 days, day 3The house is quiet this morning after a not-so-quiet sleepover last night as the girls and their best friend enjoy the last few days of Christmas vacation.
Day 3's goal wasn't unexpected - after 'what' and 'why', I figured 'how' might be coming along soon. One nice thing about being intentional on the what and why has been that I've already started sorting through the how a bit.
barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-40296178956638940222014-01-02T09:13:00.004-05:002014-01-02T09:33:08.089-05:0030 days, day 2"A WHAT goal is great. It’s a fun start, but it’s not enough. We need a WHY goal too.
What’s a WHY goal? It’s the heart of the reason you actually want to accomplish that goal."
It felt good yesterday to sit at the table and brainstorm. We won't get to a lot of the things we dreamed about, but with no destination we have no direction. The WHAT gives us the compass point, the WHY is the enginebarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-62287756085626635042014-01-01T10:03:00.000-05:002014-01-01T13:35:36.204-05:0030 daysI'm an introvert who is blessed beyond measure yet still manage sometimes to struggle with both the intensity of anxiety and the quiet fog of apathy. Weird extremes. I love to create, but dislike self-promotion (which makes being a success in music a bit tricky). But talk to me about something I love, and you're doomed to listen to me ramble about it. Things that stress me out, I tend to barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-18991753415958122362013-10-19T21:42:00.000-04:002013-10-19T21:42:46.841-04:00little redWe have drama in the henhouse. Bullying, even. And it's all my fault.
When I ordered my last group of chickens for meat, I decided to try a new breed. I'd always gone with the Cornish white rock birds, who love to eat and will get to roaster size some eight weeks after hatching - though we deliberately slow this down by encouraging them to be outside running around and eating grass. It seems to barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-5239970454056306872013-09-30T17:28:00.001-04:002013-09-30T17:28:50.983-04:00miscellany: duck breast prosciutto
In a word: yum.
I love prosciutto. So when I happened across a recipe for duck breast prosciutto in a magazine, and - hey! - we had ducks aplenty, I decided it had to be tried. And I am so, so glad I did.
Prosciutto, bought in the store, is pork - the word in Italian, according to google translate, means "ham". Further research (you don't think I make these blogs up, do you? No, they are barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-66481201748607563042013-09-26T09:12:00.000-04:002013-09-26T09:14:19.182-04:00tenTen years
is a decade
seems a long time
is a tenth of a century
is a crawling long time
is gone in a flash and scenes are as scathingly fresh as they were on that day.
how can it be that long since he left us?
No more words today. I can only reiterate.
When
in Rome
seems
I can't escape
the
need to tell you
what
it all means
but
then I've not quite got it yet
so
here barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-10581542869158598822013-09-25T13:07:00.004-04:002013-09-25T13:07:55.534-04:00a ham storyOnce upon a time, I bought a whole ham, bone-in. It cost about $16. So I decided to make a week of it. Because it's the sort of thing I like to do, often for no apparent reason. This is the story of the ham.
The eponymous ham.
Day 1
The whole ham would be roasted in all its glory. I cut off the plastic to find cheesecloth around the whole thing. I've never seen that before, but barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-50153138360766347252013-09-16T12:28:00.000-04:002014-02-15T10:28:50.661-05:00daring cooks, septemberSummer on the farm is wonderful but also tends to take me waaaaay off track of other things I do. I don't want to heat up our little kitchen any more than is necessary, and cooking is often a quick grab of things from the garden. While this is a blessing that we are so grateful for, it unfortunately meant I missed a couple of challenges, but I was able to get back on track this month and make barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-76206962222010337182013-08-21T11:26:00.001-04:002013-08-21T11:43:22.092-04:00serendipity is sour but tastySerendipity
(ˌsɛrənˈdɪpɪtɪ)
- noun. - The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The farm has been busy, birds (136 in all, right now) growing and laying eggs and all that sort of thing. The summer has been such a contrast to last year's drought, and the garden with almost no help from me is lush and productive. Which includes the weeds, but that's part of the job.
barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-13557140075698601212013-08-09T13:15:00.001-04:002013-08-09T21:18:05.547-04:00miscellany: beef tongueYes, really.
Soooo... yeah. Here goes.
I love classic literature and it seems that without fail, when the genteel folk had a picnic or cold lunch (oops, luncheon), one of the items on the list is cold tongue, or jellied tongue, or tongue sandwiches. Which sounded weird. I've never eaten, let alone cooked, one.
This is pretty much my face throughout.
This will go down as the barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-64008014184201924262013-08-02T13:40:00.001-04:002013-08-02T14:01:37.139-04:00help wanted, sort ofThere is no end of things to do here. Literally. Our dream for this place is so easily expressed: "bring the farm back to life", yet there is so much in there that changes, and adapts, then changes some more, only to find that there's more to do.
Regular maintenance eats up a great deal of time. Housework? I try to keep up with that in summer, but outside is constantly clamouring for attention. barbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1852778706949928496.post-60674572405238093702013-06-24T12:16:00.000-04:002013-06-24T12:16:35.761-04:00big new things
By way of update, the farm continues to amaze, inspire, and exhaust us. This year's plans involved one thing that is really many things: expansion.
For years we have lived here and done our thing, but it was time to add more. Egg orders were beyond what we could fill, and our first experimental year of selling meat hens behind the farm gate had been a success. We loved the fresh garden producebarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583846153636293306noreply@blogger.com0